


Friends

by Mad_Mage



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Attempt at Humor, F/M, Friendship/Love, Secret Crush, Songfic, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-07 01:48:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16399103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mad_Mage/pseuds/Mad_Mage
Summary: He had been growing up with the ever-shifting feelings of friendly exasperation and affection, becoming a man knowing how hopelessly and helplessly he was in love with his best friend.





	Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by “Friends” from Marshmallow & Anne-Marie.

_Not the best idea_ , Hux mused as he was slowly losing sensation in his fingers and toes. It was the middle of January and he had left his coat and shoes inside the apartment. Hux was hiding outside of his best friend’s window, clinging to a rusted rail of an old fire escape that abruptly stopped four stories above the ground. He didn’t fancy the fall.

The idea itself – to surprise Rey with their favorite movies and junk food – was a good one. He had even bullied Ben into joining them even though Solo had been his usual charming self.

Hux could hardly remember the time when the three of them had enjoyed an evening together. He had been out of the town for months and missed seeing the two banes of his existence, namely Rey Kenobi and Ben Solo.

So, Hux had sneaked into the building, used the spare key in the pot next to Rey’s door and let himself into her apartment. He had been inside for full 48 seconds – long enough to toe off his boots and hang his coat in the closet – when he had heard voices outside of the door.

_They’re early!_ He had told Ben to distract Rey and to bring her back at 5 p.m. Not quarter to five. Then Hux had recognized the male and groaned, diving towards the window. Just in time, because the door had opened only a second after Hux had disappeared from sight.

The second voice belonged to Finn, and Finn wasn’t his favorite person. Why? It wasn’t really anything personal – it was just that Hux had trouble making friends, was suspicious of new people he met and tended to glare at them in silence. He disliked talking to strangers and avoided it, making it impossible for him to actually get to know them. He was happy with a close-knitted group of individuals. He didn’t need to be on friendly terms with half the town. People, in general, were extremely annoying.

“…Can you believe the nerve of him?!” Rey’s voice was unusually high-pitched. She was angry and for a moment, Hux thought she had seen him. But no, she didn’t appear above him, didn’t even notice the window ajar. “Haven’t I made it obvious? Haven’t I made it clear? We were and will be only F-R-I-E-N-D-S! God!”

_What is she talking about?_ Hux swallowed and gripped the rail tighter. He wasn’t the youngest commanding officer of a top-secret military base for nothing. His brain immediately supplied him with the right conclusion. Rey was irritated with a male who was _just_ her friend and who hadn’t gotten that message. She wasn’t talking… surely she wasn’t talking about him, was she? He had never even glanced at her inappropriately. Turning pale, he cursed. _Fuck! Breaking into her apartment was the worst idea ever!_

“Well, how many times you have tried to get your point across?”

“Like six thousand times!” Rey yelled. At that moment, Hux couldn’t stand it anymore and risked a look inside. Rey was pacing the small space between the kitchen and front door while Finn was sprawled on the sofa, looking properly sympathetic, even if a bit bored. It obviously wasn’t the first time they were having that conversation. Two spots of color appeared on Hux’s cheeks. They were discussing him on regular basis, then.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck!_ Hux continued to curse in his head. He had been so careful not to even flirt with her the way Ben always did. Hux was always proper, that’s how he had been raised. Not to mention that he had did not wish to destroy their wonderful friendship over something as immature as this crush. He was well aware that it would only push her away. The last thing Hux wanted was to mess it up, bringing these… … stupid… feelings into the mix. They were _best friends_. For a loner like him, that was precious.

Rey looked ready to dismember him if he showed up his face; her cheeks were flushed, fists clenched, strands of hair escaping their imprisonment. The sight of her was like a punch to his gut, as was the knowledge that he hadn’t been successful. She _knew_. Rey knew and Hux was ready to try his luck and climb down the lightning conductor, forget the boots and coat. There was no way he could look her in the eye again.

It would crush him. Her reaction alone might be enough to pulverize his already crippled heart. With that thought, Hux glanced down. Actually, the idea of trying his luck and just _jumping_ the four stories down was not that bad. It would spare him the pain of pretending he hadn’t heard her conversation with Finn. The truth was, Hux didn’t know how _not_ to love her. He had been growing up with the ever-shifting feelings of friendly exasperation and affection, becoming a man knowing how hopelessly and helplessly he was in love with his best friend. Hux had been kneeling at her feet ever since the girl had kicked his shin for jumping the line in a library when he was thirteen.

“Every fucking time he starts about how he loves me, I want to punch him. He’s like a brother to me. We’ve known each other since I was ten! We grew up together!”

_Wait, what?_ Hux peered back inside. Rey had flung herself next to Finn and was now only huffing angrily while her friend patted her arm in a soothing gesture, muttering, “Now, now.”

Hux had met Rey when she was nine, not ten. After spending the first year of their acquittance babysitting her as General Kenobi had wished, Hux had introduced her to his only other friend Ben. Just a few months later, a fifteen-year-old Hux had been shipped off to a private school and later had entered the military. While they had kept in touch, Hux could hardly claim that they had grown up together. Rey had grown up alongside Ben while he had been an occasional visitor, stuck at the sidelines during those awfully awkward years of his late teens and early twenties.

He still remembered the moment when he had returned home from those first grueling months of his military training and realized that Rey was a girl. Bruised, his cheeks hollow, clothes no longer fitting because of yet another growth spurt, Hux nearly fell down the stairs when he had seen her. Rey had been fifteen at that time and the image of her sparkling eyes had burnt itself into his brain for the rest of his life.

There was silence. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he had completely missed it until now. When he glanced up and into the apartment, Hux flinched.

Rey was standing in front of the window with her arms crossed over her chest as she waited for him to notice her. Her expressive eyes were blazing.

“Uh. Hi?”

“Armitage Hux, what do you think you are doing there in that weather?! You’ll catch your death out there. Inside, now! I’m going to make you a mug of tea and you will explain what the hell has gotten into you.”

Rey didn’t wait for him and stepped from the window and made her into the kitchen. Properly embarrassed, Hux climbed back inside and tried to ignore Finn’s smirk.

“Hello.”

“Hey, Hux. Lost your shoes?”

“Shut up.”

“Looks like you lost your coat, too.”

Hux was certain that his cheeks were red from the cold outside, not from his utter mortification. He did _not_ blush.

“Can’t you just leave it?” hissed Hux, fists clenching. He flopped down next to him and scowled. He would prefer silence over Finn’s attempt at friendly teasing. Hux was well familiar with the notion of how that worked. It just never worked well with him.

“Sure. Sorry.”

And thus, awkward silence filled up the space between them as both men listened to Rey’s movements in the kitchen. Hux knew Finn was watching him, probably thinking up something else to say. It was uncomfortable and Hux hated situations where he wasn’t the one with the upper hand. With that thought in mind, he turned his head and leveled a cold, calculating stare at Finn.

Rey returned five minutes later with three steaming mugs of herbal tea. By that time, Hux’s glare made the poor boy sweat and Finn was just getting up from the couch.

“You know what, Rey? I’ll see you some other time. With Hux being back and all, I think you two have a lot of catching up to do. See ya later!”

Finn was out of the door before she could blink. Turning towards her friend, she asked, “What did you do to him?”

“I just looked at him. That’s all. I swear.”

“Was it your ‘you’re a speck of dirt on my shoe’ gaze or the ‘I’ll burn down your entire town’ glare?”

“Neither, I just looked at him when he started making fun of me.”

“So, it was the ‘another word and you’re dead’ glare.” Rey went to sit next to him, smiling. “But Hux, please, stop scaring my friends away like that. I’d like to have them around.”

Hux shifted away slightly so that their sides were not touching. He always made sure that there was a proper distance between them. Of course, Rey was a social creature and had friends and enjoyed their company. He understood that she needed people to be happy and that’s all he ever wanted for her. He nodded. _It’s not like she wants me to like them, anyway._

They sat next to each other for a few moments, just sipping their tea.

“Ok, is there any reason why I found you hiding out on the fire escape?” she asked casually.

“No, not really. I just… I just didn’t want you to catch me breaking into your apartment. I wasn’t really thinking.”

“Hux, you know where I put the key, it’s an open invitation to come in. If I wasn’t ok with you coming here, I would have moved it from the pot ages ago.”

“Yeah. I…” Hux shifted and avoided looking in her direction. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s no problem. Next time try to reign in your spy instincts and wait on the couch. I know it’s hard for you to believe but I do like to see you when you’re in town.”

“I’m not a spy, Rey!”

“Sure, keep telling yourself that, Mr. Top-Secret-Missions.”

He huffed, a smile tugging the corners of his mouth. Rey could make him smile just like that. The worrisome thoughts of the past several moments were already fading into the background as he relaxed in her company. He could even feel his toes, which was a good sign.

“So… I guess you’ve heard me ranting about Ben, haven’t you?” Rey asked after another moment of silence, staring into her mug. “I… well. I didn’t want to put you in that situation.”

“What situation?”

“Being caught up between the two of us. I don’t think I can continue to see him if he can’t let it go.”

“Ah.” Hux sat up straighter. His good mood was suddenly gone as he contemplated what to say. Ben’s feelings for Rey were unexpected but it made sense. Ben had always been flirting with her and she had been always annoyed by it. Hux just never had guessed the true nature behind those actions. He thought that Solo had just been making fun of her, that he had just teased her in good humor.

“Ben will grow out of it in time, I’m sure.” Hux never had but he hoped his other friend would have more luck. Loving someone who was out of your reach was something he didn’t wish on his enemies, let alone friends.

“I’m not so sure anymore.” Rey sighed and put her tea down. Hux watched her with morbid fascination, thinking himself a masochist, as she laid her head on his shoulder and snuggled closer. Was it just him, or had the room gotten warmer?

“I’m just not interested in him that way and Ben doesn’t even _try_ to understand.”

“Should I go and talk to him?” offered Hux as he gripped his mug with both hands. _Easy there, soldier._

“God, no!” Rey sat up abruptly and shook her head. “He would try to kill you.”

“What? Are we even talking about the same person here?” Hux chuckled nervously. “Tall, dark, moody as hell? You know, the guy we grew up with?”

“You trying to talk to him about me… thatwouldbeabadidea.”

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

“It would be a bad idea,” Rey repeated, clearly embarrassed with a faint blush on her cheeks. She also refused to look at him as if they were both school children.

Hux closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath. He felt like he was dreaming some sort of an absurd comic relief situation. “Yes, but why? If his behavior is bothering you, I don’t see-”

“He’s jealous of you,” blurted Rey before he could finish his sentence. Mortified, she hid her face behind her hands. “It’s stupid, really, but in one of our fights I shouted at him that I would rather date you than him.”

“Excuse me?” He wasn’t sure he had heard her right. Had she really told that to Ben? That would explain why his other best friend hadn’t been too keen to see them. _Wait, wait, wait – what has she said?!_

“I know, I know! It’s stupid. You would never even consider me in that way… I’m not an idiot. You are this super intelligent military guy and I’m just plain me fiddling with old cars… I know better than to bring up feelings into our friendship. Ben’s not like that and sometimes I feel like strangling him…”

Hux was first and foremost a strategist. His lot in life was to analyze information and correctly interpret it, therefore, his brain was only happy to provide him a translation for Rey’s words. During her rant, Hux calmly put his tea on the coffee table next to hers, unbuttoned and rolled up his sleeves and then gently took her hands in his left. His right palm cupped her cheek, his thumb touching her mouth and stopping the flow of her words.

“I would like to date you very much,” he whispered, gave her a crooked grin and replaced his thumb with his lips.

Rey let out a surprised sound and melted against him. Slightly shifting on the couch, Hux closed his eyes. _Coming here was the best idea ever._

**Author's Note:**

> I really felt bad about Hux in my other songfic “Saviour” so I decided to write him this little one-shot. What do you guys think?


End file.
